District 2: Albee For Open Seat

February 8, 2006

Charioteers in ancient Rome knew that a team of fast horses wasn't enough. You needed a strong, solid, mature horse to steady the others in the turns.

Fort Lauderdale has a City Commission with some pretty fast horses, but often they pull in different directions. They need a steadying influence. They can have that if voters elect the right person to fill the District 2 commission seat, currently held by Commissioner Dean Trantalis, who is not seeking re-election.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board recommends that voters choose Jon Albee. He's the most politically mature and experienced of a large field of candidates.

Albee owns a Fort Lauderdale building company that specializes in renovation and restoration, and he has some strong ideas about how the city should handle its redevelopment issues. In particular, he believes "housing for all" is vital to the city's future success, and he has a deep well of knowledge from which to draw in order to make it happen.

He wants to preserve neighborhoods by encouraging developers to become part of a neighborhood's vision, rather than expect the neighborhood to accommodate the developer's plan. He also favors transferring development rights to shift density from neighborhoods to the downtown, where he wants to see the master plan implemented and transit alternatives made available more quickly. He says he would never vote to use eminent domain to take someone's private property and turn it over to a private developer.

Albee's top priority is reducing crime in a city where he says open-air drug dealing is rampant. He faults the current City Commission for cutting the budget "far too deeply," and he wants to fully fund and staff the Police and Fire departments. He also places great emphasis on better hurricane preparations. To that end, he wants a tree-trimming ordinance and would work concertedly to develop a utilities master plan that would require underground lines.

Albee, 60, is a native of Fort Lauderdale and has served the city on numerous boards and civic associations for 18 years. He has an intimate knowledge of the city, its history and its problems. He has vision and a deep commitment to progress. He has earned a seat on the City Commission.

Among Albee's opponents is Charlotte Rodstrom, 52, president of a marketing company. She lost a bid for a commission seat three years ago, but since then has gained valuable experience by serving on the city's Planning and Zoning Board. She would make a capable city commissioner.

Another strong candidate is Les Hollingsworth, 59, a mortgage banker and co-owner of a preschool. He is deeply concerned about crime, and if elected would bring back "community policing." He favors "smart growth" and says the city is neglecting its neighborhoods while focusing on the beach and downtown.

The other candidates in this seven-member field are Mike Moskowitz, owner of a small credit card processing business, who will turn 28 on the day of the primary election; Ryan Campbell, 29, who is Broward County public communications manager; Charles "Chip" Burpee, 27, a restaurant manager; and Bradford Cohen, 34, a lawyer.

If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the Feb. 14 primary, the top two vote-getters will meet in a runoff in the general election on March 14.